I’m a Morton Salt Girl

I have one small tattoo on my wrist that says the word “Blessed” just so I never forget how great my life is. However, if I could get one more tattoo it would be of the Morton Salt girl. (This is true.) It would be my homage to cooking for a living. I know it’s not original, I’ve seen two other chefs with this tattoo, but I love the symbolism of that little girl holding the umbrella.

I have one small tattoo on my wrist that says the word “Blessed” just so I never forget how great my life is.  However, if I could get one more tattoo it would be of the Morton Salt girl. (This is true.) It would be my homage to cooking for a living. I know it’s not original, I’ve seen two other chefs with this tattoo, but I love the symbolism of that little girl holding the umbrella. (Check out the video we created as a love note to Morton Salt 2+ years ago. It is so fun how the world comes full circle.)

I have been cooking my whole life, baking since I was three years old. Morton Salt was the only brand we ever had in the cupboards. I remember getting out a butter knife to pop the metal lip when I was really young. If feels just like yesterday, and now I have a son that same age.

When I went to culinary school salt was one of the first lessons we learned. Prior to school I would sprinkle salt over my creations because that is what the chef I had seen do. I never completely understood what salt did or how much it could change the end result. My first exam, I turned in a dish and my chef told me to add more salt. I hurried back to my station and sprinkled just a little bit because I didn’t want to risk over salting. Then I would have him taste it. I was again told to add more salt and yet again I hurried back to my station. This happened for four rounds. Finally when I had the perfect amount of salt he sat me down and had me appreciate my meal. It was the first time it all clicked. I used to believe salt was what you added when you wanted to cover up a bad dish. I was totally and completely wrong. Salt enhances the flavor! It was a real ah ha moment.

To this day I always have in my possession 2 boxes of Morton Kosher salt and 1 canister of Morton Iodized Salt. One box of Kosher salt is in the cupboard next to the stove, the other box is in my car just to be sure that I never show up at a catering job without it. The Iodized salt is with my baking ingredients. Perhaps that little girl (on the box) has become a safety blanket or sorts because I feel like as long as I have a sharp knife and a box of Morton Kosher Salt, I can create a great dish anywhere!

I have had in my possession various brands of Kosher salt – private label and other name brands in the past. (Let’s be honest, I did not buy them, but I have sent others out on a grocery run for me and they have come back with other salt brands.) I would open the box, pour it in my palm of my hand expecting the feeling of the coarse graininess of the classic Morton Kosher Salt and in turn I would get baby boulders of pretzel salt. I would try to cook with it but the granules are so big they don’t dissolve enough leaving you with a big mouthful of salt. Needless to say I always specify the brand now.

Whether it’s salt crusted snapper or salty caramel, every recipe begins and ends with salt. If you are in any way leery about using salt, a great test is with mashed potatoes without salt. Taste and decide if it’s worth sitting through. Add some salt and then enjoy your work of an amazing bowl of mashed potatoes.

To finish up I just want to make a list of my favorite salt products Morton’s makes.

Favorite Salt

1. Morton Coarse Kosher Salt—coarser texture so it’s great to pinch and sprinkle over foods, not too overwhelming in flavor so you can control the salt content a little better. Items of culinary importance #1 Sharp knife #2 Morton Kosher Salt

2. Morton Iodized Table Salt—In my home and in the bakery this is what we use. It has finer granules so it dissolves quickly and evenly.

3. Morton Garlic Salt—My dad is a great cook, (I’ll probably never admit that out loud to him), and his culinary backbone is garlic salt. Whether it is a piece of toast or a pork chop, everything tastes better with a little garlic salt.

4. Morton Seasoned Salt —I love pre-made seasoned salt like this because sometimes it’s great to not have to think and just trust a brand like Morton. I mean wow – to have so much flavor in one teaspoon of seasoned salt…. If you ever watch Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives all the good BBQ sauces have a little seasoned salt in the mix.

These are my favorite products but I doubt you know how many great products Morton makes. For all the details, check out their amazing salt guide to help inspire your next meal.

NOTE: While Cooking with Caitlin DID receive some form of payment to buy the salt and test out the Morton Salt product (just in case we had not yet tried it), we truly love the brand (hence the reason why we said yes). In fact, a video was created in homage to Morton Salt during the early fall of 2008. Check it out.